Delhi Election Results: Why Delhiites voted Arvind Kejriwal's AAP out; here is what survey reveals

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by its national convenor and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025, marking a return to power in the national capital after three decades. The election results were declared on Saturday, February 8. 

A Local Circle survey rated the AAP government's performance in the last five years, from municipal services to healthcare and air pollution, in an attempt to find out why the people of Delhi voted for a change in the state government in the Assembly Elections 2025.

The survey included more than 1,00,000 residents of 11 districts of the national capital between November 1, 2024, and February 1, 2025.

AAP's performance metrics

The data highlights that 51 per cent of respondents out of the total sample size approved of the “improvement in water supply” in Delhi. This comes from the people of the state where water supply is a problem due to the high pollution level of the River Yamuna and low levels or poor functioning of water treatment plants.

On the power supply front, 50 per cent of the survey respondents said that they had witnessed some development in the last five years during the AAP regime. The government put efforts into generating power in the state from waste-to-energy plants and solar power and securing supplies from the national grid, according to the report.

Improving government healthcare was another aspect, and 49 per cent of the respondents said that they noticed an improvement in healthcare services under the AAP government. These were the top three positive developments from the survey report.

Where did people feel the AAP government lacked?

According to the survey report, which cites more than one lakh people's responses, improving municipal services, Improving air quality, and reducing corruption were the top three areas where the Arvind Kejriwal-led government lacked.

Out of all the responses, only 19 per cent of the people responding to the survey said that they witnessed any improvement in the municipal services segment, while 51 per cent of the people said they noticed the same becoming worse over time. 

Municipal services include waste collection, keeping roads clean, timely action during and post-monsoon when mosquito infestation sees a large number of people falling sick, and action to prevent the menace of stray dogs, monkeys, etc.

Air quality has been a raging topic for India, especially in Delhi, where the air quality index (AQI) reached 795 in November 2024, which means a hazardous level of air pollution.

Only 20 per cent of the respondents said they witnessed the air quality improving in the last five years, compared to 80 per cent who rated the same as being poor and non-existent of any improvement. 

Up to 23 per cent of the people responding to the survey said that corruption related to state government services has reduced, while 36 per cent said it has increased in the last five years.

Other areas like doorstep delivery of services, improving government schools, and improving public transport were also ranging between 25 per cent and 40 per cent where people acknowledged developments, according to the survey report.

The report also highlighted that people have rated the government's performance multiple times in the past, but this year, the ratings fell to the lowest level of 38 per cent on average.